2009 Tribute To Change

The Legacy of Harvey Finkle: Justice Behind the Lens

Bread & Roses’ Tribute to Change is the annual event where Philadelphia-area progressives come together to celebrate advances for social justice. The Tribute to Change is an opportunity to honor the accomplishments of community organizers and activists whose work inspires and creates real change.

The 2009 Tribute to Change was held at the National Constitution Center and celebrated the work of well-known documentary photographer and Bread & Roses co-founder, Harvey Finkle (check out his website). A display of Harvey’s work was accompanied by a juried exhibit of emerging photographers following in Harvey’s tradition.

The following photographers’ works were selected by a jury of photography professionals based on their fit for Bread & Roses’ theme of documenting communities coming together to build power and self-determination, empowerment, and working for social change.

John A. BenignoJohn’s interest in photography dates back to the mid-1950’s when his father brought home one of the first Polaroid Land cameras. Over the past fifteen years he has exhibited his work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Sales and Rental Gallery, the Magidson Gallery in New York City, the Washington County Arts Council Gallery in Hagerstown, MD, and the Print Center in Philadelphia. In the Philadelphia area, you can see his work in the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum at Ursinus College, at Rosemont College, and the Woodmere Art Museum. His photographs have been published in “Camera Arts” magazine, “The Calumet Newsletter for Photographic Artists,” and the “Antietam Review.”

Matthew Thomas CianfraniMatthew was born in rural Pennsylvania. After high school he moved to London, UK for a brief period before returning to study Fine Arts (concentration photography) at the University of Pennsylvania. Matthew has since had the great fortune of traveling extensively through China, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Yunnan province, and southern Tibet. Matthew employs both traditional and contemporary means of photographic practice to address the effects of industrialization on perceptions of reality.

Lauren Hansen-FlaschenLauren is a freelance photographer based in Philadelphia. Her personal work focuses on bringing together cross-cultural understanding and community development through documentary photography. Her background includes extensive travel abroad, primarily in South and Southeast Asia, and employment in numerous nonprofit organizations, including two years as an AmeriCorps volunteer. She graduated from Boston University in 2004 with a B.A. in Religious Studies and Sociology.

Chris MeckThe image, Operation Transparency: Citizen’s Document Search (49), was taken onDecember 11, 2006 when Casino-Free Philadelphia went to Harrisburg to protest the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). The PGCB refused to release documents for the proposed Philadelphia Casinos, such as updated site plans and traffic plans. No meaningful public input could be made without access to such basic documents. To obtain their release, Casino-Free Philadelphia engaged in a direct action attempting to make public the documents themselves. Fourteen protesters were arrested including Bruce Schimmel, founder of the Philadelphia City Paper, as seen in the photo. The result: hundreds of pages released. This is not a statement about the morality of gambling but a comment about the fight for our basic civil liberties: the right to vote, the right to participate in civic process, the right to transparent government.

Rachel PlayeRachel graduated from Temple University with a BA in Film and Media Arts. Her work has appeared in various publications, including The Daily News and abcnews.com. From her work at Temple News, she has received multiple Collegiate Keystone Awards. She was most recently a campaign photographer for Superior Court candidate Judge Younge. Today, she spends her time between Philadephia and harvesting cucumbers and garlic with other ecologically-minded youth for pickling at the Adamah farm in Connecticut.

Kaytee RiekKaytee Riek is a member of ACT UP Philadelphia and the unofficial graphic design artist/photographer for a handful of AIDS activist organizations. She has been involved in fighting spineless politicians and greedy drug companies for over seven years, most recently as the Director of Organizing for Health GAP. She has been lucky enough to travel all over the US and the world photographing AIDS activists in action.

Matthew RongMatthew Rong is currently a third year law student at Temple Law School. He is an amateur photographer who developed his passion for picture-taking during college when taking a black-and-white film photography class. His photography mostly consists of shooting for his local church’s website (www.renewalchurch.org), but he has also done various assignments including t-shirt modeling, the Chinatown Casino Protest, and events held at his law school. He is a resident of Chinatown, Philadelphia.

Jacques-Jean “JJ” TiziouJJ Tiziou specializes in portraiture and movement documentation, and has never encountered an un-photogenic person in his life. His images are used both in corporate and editorial contexts, as well as arts and activism. Based in West Philadelphia, JJ uses his work to celebrate the beautiful people around him who are working to make the world a better place. He has worked extensively with the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival / Philly Fringe, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the Prometheus Radio Project and Casino-Free Philadelphia among others. He also enjoys teaching photography and digital imaging workshops and serves on the technology committee of WPEB radio in West Philly.

Kemah C. WashingtonKemah Washington is a community activist, homeless advocate, illegal hand gun advocate, social justice photographer, writer, member of the Father Paul Washington Community Committee and follower of Jesus Christ.